Kuhio is again participating in the Super Star Savings program that was started here in 2008. Dr. Michael Cheang of the UH School of Family and Consumer Science brought this wonderful opportunity to Kuhio and other schools on Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island. The goal of this program is to help young children start a savings account and save money regularly. With the support of the University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union, Kuhio students saved $12,000 the first year of the program!

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The purposes of this project are to explore: 1) the extent to which parents’ (of elementary school age children) have and help their children save money; 2) the factors that increase the likelihood of saving behavior; and 3) the barriers that prevent saving behavior.

If you participate in this project, here is what you will do and how much time it will take:

Open a savings account in your child’s name. The sign up will be done at Prince Jonah Kuhio Elementary School in the cafeteria. After the account has been verified and opened, the research project will credit your child’s account with $5. On the sign-up day, please bring a picture ID of yourself (acceptable ID types are: valid driver’s license, valid passport, valid state ID, valid military/government issued ID), and your child’s birth certificate (a Social Security Card for your child will suffice). It will take about 20 minutes to sign up.

At the start of the project, help your child to set a financial goal to work for one year. For example, between October 2018 and March 2019, save at least $30. This is about $5.00 a month (or less than 30 cents a day).

Help your child to save by reminding your child to set aside money for saving, or help your child to earn money by doing chores or another activity, like recycling.

The University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union (UHFCU) will come to Prince Jonah Kuhio Elementary School Cafeteria on the designated Thursdays of each month from 7:30 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. to collect the deposit from your child. Remind your child to bring the savings to school to deposit the money. A hand written receipt will be given to your child for each deposit made and an official printed statement will be sent to your child at your home or mailing address at the end of the month.

On deposit days, allow your child to bring in the savings coin bank and savings passbook. Deposit of the coins and bills may take a few minutes, since the UHFCU does not verify the loose coins at the time of the deposit, the transaction is much faster.

In the past, twenty randomly-chosen parents were invited to come together to share ideas about what is done to help their children save, including what was and wasn't helpful. This was usually in the early evening. This focus group session generally lasted for about one hour.

Also, at the end of the project time line, participants were invited (randomly-chosen parents) to come together again to talk about their (and their children’s) savings experiences, and to share ideas on how this savings project can be improved. This focus group session lasted for about one and a half hours.

Information obtained from this study was summarized into broad categories. Participation in this study was completely voluntary. Participants were free to withdraw from participation at any time during the duration of the project with no penalty or loss of benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled.

If you have any questions regarding this research project, please contact the researcher, Michael Cheang, Associate Professor of the Family and Consumer Sciences Department at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Phone: 956-2252.